HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Amid the aisles and aisles of toys in stores like Target, My Friend Cayla sits on the shelf. She looks innocent, but at least three consumer advocate groups say she’s nothing but trouble.

“Parents are buying this doll without any clue their children are essentially being spied on,” said Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood.

The groups claim kids are spied on by a third party that collects data from the internet connected toy; in this case, your child’s voice.

Here’s how they explain it. Your child talks to the doll, and that goes through an app or smart device. From there, it’s sent to Nuance Communications where the data is stored in a cloud. What happens then is what these groups want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. At a minimum, they fear kids’ play is scoring points for marketers.

“For instance, Cayla talks a lot about Disney products and going to Disneyland, so there’s a real possibility for product placement to occur within the doll itself,” Golin said.

But worse, the consumer advocacy groups warn in their petition to the FTC, there are no security measures on the doll. Anyone with a nearby Bluetooth connection could hack in.

“Obviously, the idea of a stranger being able to talk to your child while they’re in their bedroom playing with their doll is beyond creepy,” Golin said.

Cayla is just one of the toys in the FTC complaint. The complaint also names the I-Que Intelligent Robot, also made by Genesis Toys.

We reached out to Genesis but did not receive a comment. Nuance Communications says they take data privacy seriously.

]]>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 15:29:03 +0000toy-spyinghttp://wavy.com/2016/12/09/is-your-childs-toy-spying-on-you/North Carolina man says he sets fires because he was boredhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/strange-news/~3/Aj01qU2p07M/
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 19:28:31 +0000http://wavy.com/?p=420577ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A man charged with setting fires in western North Carolina told authorities he did it out of boredom.

In court documents, U.S. Forest Service agent Brian Southard says Keith Mann of Franklin told him he set two fires in Macon County because “I was just bored.”

Media outlets report Mann also said he “wanted to see something burn” and didn’t have much to live for after his wife left him. The 49-year-old was arrested Wednesday and charged with destroying real property by means of fire. The charge carries a mandatory penalty of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The fires started Oct. 27 and Nov. 22 and burned 16 acres.

Southard says he went to Mann’s home after listening to a 911 call from Mann reporting the second fire.

Mann is in Buncombe County jail without bond. He has requested a public defender.

The Ocala Star-Banner reports that 55-year-old Michael Lee Britton was arrested Tuesday on charges of aggravated animal cruelty, assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest without violence.

Police responded after a woman called to report that a man had thrown a dog at her moving car. Britton told the Star-Banner that he did it because the dog had been pierced by an arrow. Police found no such wound.

Humane Society of Marion County volunteer Brenda Hall says the Australian shepherd has no broken bones, but he does have fluids in his abdomen, which suggest he might have internal bleeding.

The fast food giant says the tests are being carried out in 75 of its restaurants in the Tulsa, Oklahoma-area. It says Quarter Pounders in the restaurants will be made with fresh beef that’s cooked when ordered.

Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s says it got positive feedback recently from a similar test in the Dallas/Fort Worth-area.

McDonald’s says it has made “significant enhancements” to its food. It says that over last 18 months it has removed high fructose corn syrup from its buns and stopped using margarine in favor of butter.

The company is trying to stage a comeback after losing customers in recent years, with executives conceding they failed to keep up with changing tastes.

“The only place that’s better than the stadium is our house,” said Danielle Olivas.

Their silver and blue home used to be green.

With a rock hand-painted for almost every Cowboys player and a Cowboys wishing well, this house is hard to miss.

That’s just the outside — take a step into their home and you’ll get lost in a sea of blue.

They’ve been decking out their home for five years, but their love for the Cowboys started way before that.

“When I was young I just didn’t have much to do, so I would sit in front of the black-and-white TV and watch college football, and I fell in love with Tony Dorset and when the Cowboys picked him up I became a Cowboys fan,” said Francisca Olivas, who owns the home.

Catch them on game day and you’ll see that the Olivas family has some unbreakable traditions. No one can even get into the house on game day without wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey.

“After every touchdown, we blow her horn and we just celebrate,” said Danielle.

With the Cowboys doing so well so far this season, they say this is their year.

“I definitely do, I definitely do. I’m praying big time that the Cowboys win this year,” said Francisca.

The family also has a rule that if you come into their house on game day and root against the Cowboys, you have to sit outside on the porch.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Tony Presta shot this video of employees and customers completing the mannequin challenge at the Bahama Breeze restaurant in the Virginia Beach Town Center.

If you haven’t heard of the mannequin challenge, it’s the latest viral internet video trend where participants remain frozen in action like… mannequins!

]]>Thu, 17 Nov 2016 16:40:04 +0000bahama-breeze-frozenhttp://hrscene.com/community/virginia-beach/vb-restaurant-makes-mannequin-challenge-look-like-breeze/Jury convicts man who tried to use Cheetos as an acceleranthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/strange-news/~3/THYW5eSulmw/
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 13:11:34 +0000http://wavy.com/?p=412577TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man who authorities say attempted to use Cheetos to accelerate a fire at his ex-girlfriend’s home while she was inside has been convicted of malicious destruction of property.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office says a jury convicted 31-year-old Shemroy Williams, of Taunton, on Wednesday. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars.

Crews responded to a home in March after the woman and her friend reported that Williams was trying to light it on fire.

Authorities say an investigation revealed Williams wedged a propane tank against the house while a fire on the back porch was burning.

Police say they located Williams in the area with two lighters in his pocket and an empty bag of Cheetos. Investigators determined Williams tried to use Cheetos to accelerate the fire.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

]]>Thu, 17 Nov 2016 13:11:34 +0000orange cheese flavoured snackshttp://wavy.com/2016/11/17/jury-convicts-man-who-tried-to-use-cheetos-as-an-accelerant/Vroom: Gov’t to require hybrid, electric cars to make noisehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/strange-news/~3/FhDSHQgCNic/
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 20:18:04 +0000http://wavy.com/?p=410759WASHINGTON (AP) — New hybrid and electric cars are required to make noise when traveling at low speeds so that pedestrians, especially those who are blind or have poor eyesight, will hear them coming, under a new rule released Monday by the Obama administration.

The new rule could help prevent about 2,400 pedestrian injuries a year once all hybrids on the road are equipped to make noise, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Hybrid vehicles use both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Electric motors, however, make very little noise compared to gasoline and diesel engines.

The rule requires hybrid and electric vehicles to make audible noise when traveling in reverse or forward at speeds up to about 19 mph. The sound alert isn’t required at higher speeds because other factors, such as tire and wind noise, provide warning.

“We all depend on our senses to alert us to possible danger,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “With more, quieter hybrid and electrical cars on the road, the ability for all pedestrians to hear as well as see the cars becomes an important factor of reducing the risk of possible crashes and improving safety.”

Manufacturers have until Sept. 1, 2019, to equip all new hybrid and electric vehicles with sounds that meet the new federal safety standard. Half of new hybrid and electric vehicles must be in compliance one year before the final deadline.

According to Keizer Police Sgt. Jeff Goodman, around 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, emergency dispatchers received reports that a loud explosion had been heard all over town.

In the 5100 block of 7th Avenue Northeast, neighbors directed police to a house that had a large cloud of smoke overhead. When police arrived, people at the house were “very uncooperative,” according to Goodman.

According to Goodman, Michael Dingle, the owner of the house, admitted he was happy Trump won so he decided to load cannon with gunpowder and set it off in celebration. Two other people were charged with hindering prosecution, according to police. Their names have not been released.

The fire department responded to make sure there were no other existing hazards.

There were no reports of any injury or significant property damage.

Records show Dingle was cited and released. The booking photo obtained by KOIN 6 is from an unrelated arrest in 2009. Dingle’s court date has not been set.

Keizer is located about 45 minutes south of Portland along Interstate 5.

FARRAGUT (WATE) — A Farragut High School student was suspended for a day, all over a chicken nugget that school officials alleged he had stolen.

Senior Carson Koller said the lunch amounts are portioned out and on Monday students were offered five chicken nuggets in a tub. He said he was feeling extra hungry and put a sixth chicken nugget in his tub, taken from another tub.

When the cafeteria worker on the cash register noticed the extra nugget, Koller said he was informed that he had to pay for an extra lunch which he said he did. When he went to leave the lunch line, he was taken to the principal’s office.

The principal said he would have to be suspended for a day due to theft of property. Koller said part of the confusion was his fault because he was nervous and didn’t mention that he had paid for the extra chicken nugget.

“It’s honestly kind of funny. It was partially on me, kind of mostly on me. At the same time it was like, ‘Really, you couldn’t have just given me a warning?’” said Koller.

Koller’s mother, Carrie Koller Waller, emailed the principal and posted a long message on Facebook saying she was outraged her son, an Eagle Scout and member of the band, over something she said was so trivial.

“I am shaking my head over this and not sure what to do….laugh, punish, argue, dress him up as a nugget bandit, or let it go. Does the suspension matter on his records?” she said in the post.

She also shared a screenshot of Koller’s account, showing he had actually been charged three times for lunch, the third time presumably when school officials thought he had stolen the nugget.

Eventually, Koller says the school apologized saying they didn’t have the full story, lifted Koller’s suspension and removed it from his permanent record. Koller ended up only missing part of one class.

“They said, ‘Do you have anything to take away from this?’ I said, ‘You know, I just have to advocate for myself sometimes.’ Was nervous, first time I had ever been in that situation,” said Koller.

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Christina Sheldon says she watched a large group of juveniles walk calmly across East Virginia Beach Boulevard just before police say they stormed into a 7-Eleven and ran away with stolen merchandise.

About 20 juveniles are believed to be involved in the Halloween night incident, according to Norfolk police.

Jo Ann Hughes, public information officer, says detectives are now reviewing in-store surveillance in hopes of identifying any suspects.

Sheldon started recording on her cell phone when she saw things getting out of control inside the store, located at the corner of East Virginia Beach and Ballentine Boulevards.

Police say about $300 in merchandise was stolen.

“It happened really quickly,” said Sheldon, who says the kids were dressed in black and many were wearing masks. “They got up to the front of the door and they kind of ran in and kind of scattered. I saw a couple trying to scare the people behind the counter.”

Sheldon says after bum-rushing the store, some of the suspects tossed items at windows.

“When you’re a kid, you don’t think about the seriousness of what you are doing,” she said.

Customers who watched the video Tuesday outside the store expressed their concern for the innocent employees and customers.

“It’s horrible,” said Ashlynn Cannon. “It’s Halloween. It’s supposed to be fun, not disruptive … Little children could have been in there.”

A manager at the 7-Eleven, who identified herself as Cindy, would not share the surveillance video from inside the store.

WAVY.com sent an email to 7-Eleven corporate headquarters Tuesday afternoon and we’re still waiting to get a response.

Local prosecutors in Memphis decided against pursuing charges, but that level of leniency is far from guaranteed nationwide.

State laws vary greatly when it comes to turning voting booths into photo booths.

Fewer than 20 states explicitly allow residents to capture the moment on camera, according to a study by the Associated Press, but even those areas often dissuade voters from documenting the moment.

“Legally, they can do it,” conceded D.C. Board of Elections spokeswoman Tamara Robinson, but pointed out, “We do ask and discourage voters from taking ballot selfies” for fear of creating longer lines and compromising the integrity of the voting process.

The majority of U.S. states have statutes on the books that either outlaw ballot photos or are unclear on the issue.

Enforcing the laws can sometimes create a legal hazard.

Early voter snaps a selfie after casting an early vote in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chance Seales)

In 2014, three New Hampshire voters sued the state in federal court after they were told that they had violated state law by posting pictures of their ballots in a primary race.

Granite State lawmakers reasoned that ballot pictures exposed the electoral system to certain risks, like vote-buying and voter intimidation.

The selfie-snappers, backed by the ACLU and Snapchat, disagreed and took their case all the way up to a federal court of appeals, which is just one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel found that New Hampshire violated voters’ First Amendment rights by impeding their exercise of free speech during the election process without sufficient tailoring, writing that state legislators were guilty of “burning down the house to roast the pig.“

New Hampshire now allows ballot selfies.

Since a large number of states still have active laws banning ballot selfies, it’s likely that similar lawsuits could pop up in courts around the nation following this election cycle.

If one of those cases makes it to a federal appeals court which rules against the voters, it would create a prime opportunity for the Supreme Court to step in and resolve the issue once and for all.

Until then, selfie-takers could face $1,000 in fines or spend up to 30 days in jail, depending on specific state laws.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — One Franklin Township homeowner was angry to learn someone had torn a hole into her inflatable black cat decoration, but she was able to at least get a laugh at the security video.

It’s clear that Lisa Gourdouze loves Halloween, but mostly she loves the decorations.

But Sunday morning she found her giant cat inflatable had lived its ninth life.

“I was coming out here and I noticed my big Halloween cat was deflated so I kind of looked over there and there was a big tear in it and I thought maybe it was just the wind,” she said.

So she reviewed her four security cameras and was shocked at what she found in the footage taken at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

“There’s this guy coming across the street,” Gourdouze said, “He came over and just walked right in the front yard like it’s no big deal and he turned around and he bit it.”

The white man in a camouflage hat and bright blue shorts bit a hole into the material and then continued to tear it, before leaving the cat to deflate.